Aug 26- Great Late Summer Casting

Jeremy and I t went out to the Cape Lookout Shoals to see what was out there chewing today........NO EXCUSE for being this Slack. But, I have been working. I've been trying to help my Mom and Dad, as they both have had their goes with Cancer as well as other ailments 80+ year olds must endure. I've also fought Air Condition Units and Tires. Yes, Capt Marty's battles are being fought on multiple fronts. I'm feeling like the "good Hitler" surrounded on all sides. In the past, I took out my frustrations on fish. With old age ( and new aches) nowadays I even feel sorry for the fish.....

Back to Jeremy and my day.....Jeremy truthfully  is one of the Worlds Worst Fisherman. He truly shines with the Ladies, but the Fish have him foiled. I remember one stretch where I hooked Bluefish on 9 straight casts. The louder I chanted, the quieter Jeremy grew. Then I realized he wasn't hooking up at all. By that point, my attempts at "coaching" were met by eye rolls and sadistic mumbles..... Well, by the early afternoon we called it a day.  We had a nice catch of Blues and Mackerel. We had seen many Sharks including one that easily went 12 to 13 feet long. It was near the bottom in 15-18 feet of water. He occupied an area that was teeming with hundreds of 6 foot Blacktip Sharks. All Blacktips were swimming south or north, wheras "Mr. Big" was swimming west. Perpendicular to all other sharks. (When can I use those terms in this industry.....6.02 X 10 to the 23rd.......Total Catch for the Day: 60 Bluefish from 1 to 3 lbs, 5 Spanish Mackerel 2 to 3 lbs, 1 Atlantic Needlefish, 2 Blue Runners, and 2 Crevalle Jacks

Aug 24- GREAT FALL FISHING COMING SOON

Okay folks, the temperatures are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and Fish are feeding with reckless abandon.  Sure signs that FALL is getting closer.... Also, my knees are doing much better and Life's many stresses seem to be leveling out. In other words, ole Capt Marty is actually thinking about FISHING again.

Anyone interested in FISHING, call me or text me at:

252-241-8350

Or email me at:

captmarty1@gmail.com
wmoore6@ec.rr.com

Aug 22- Striped Bass on Fly at Night

Striped Bass on a Fly at Night..... Sounds Cool

Absolute feeding frenzy under the lights last night. I honestly hadn't seen the resident Cedar Island school of Striped Bass in 6+ weeks or so. Tonight at midnight, it was game on, with 5-8 fish busting on the surface every 15 seconds, and the action lasted for 90 minutes. I was busy, then caught the last 10 minutes or so......I had 7 bites on a cool shrimp imitating fly and landed 4 Striped Bass. They accounted well for themselves versus the 3 wt Fly Rod. One Bass actually got into my backing. The action was awesome. I also landed an adult Menhaden that was hooked in the mouth. Whether or not this Menhaden "hit the fly" or the "fly hit the Menhaden" I'll never know my..... Total Catch for the Night: 4 Striped Bass from 10" to 15", and 1 Menhaden

Aug 11- Slow Fishing in the Crazy Fast Current

Christopher's Scup

Capt Marty's New Best Friend

SeeBo with a Great Blue Runner

Awesome Head on this Guy. Nice Barracuda too.

Great Barracuda is actually it's proper name

Capt Ryno wages War with a Light Wand

And Conquors Mr Amberjack... This Guy's "Feeding Stripe" is lit up....

I got off the sidelines today and finally got back into the game.... I wish I could say, "The Fishing was Glorious as Captain Marty triumphantly rode back into Battle......" It was more like, Despite light winds and slight seas, plenty of fresh bait, and a major Shipwreck all to ourselves, the Fishing Team comprised of Former Gold Medal Winners struggled to produce...... Too much Olympics! In actuality, the problem today was the Current. Gulf Stream type current has pushed way way to the west..... And I aint talking about a little northward drift. I'm talking about rushing water. And when the whole environment is barreling northward and the water temperature is very very hot, poor fishing usually is the result..... So Ryan, Chris, and I struggled. Holding position in 80 foot of water and delivering a live bait into narrow windows and corridors of a wreck was very challenging. Once there, the Groupers were non-existant. (Hiding from Tiger Sharks). The Amberjacks were completely scattered and extremely cautious (Been ravaged by Marauding Bands of Tiger Sharks), even the Barracudas were schooled up for protection and acting funny (Tired of Not Being in Charge of the Wreck, thanks to Groups of 7-12 foot Tiger Sharks) The funny thing was, the current had even carried the Tiger Sharks north...... Anyway, our long half day of Grouper live baiting turned into jigging sting silvers on light spinning rods for whatever we could find...... And an otherwise poor fishing day turned into an interesting day in we all had our moments...... Chris was first when he hooked a mystery fish right off the bottom. A minute later, he had the biggest damn Scup that I've seen since the 70's..... For the uneducated, Scup used to be a very important commercial Fish. Especially up north, New Jersey was its epicenter..... They disappeared. As a kid, I remember reading a book and the subject of Scup, it read "Like a Hoarde of Locust vast schools of Scup would enter a Bay and in a short time the waters would be so devoid of life, no other fish could be found." The Scup was/is the primary fish marketed  under the "catch all" name Porgy and is a member of the Porgy Family..... Other notable Porgies are the Pinfish, the Sheepshead, and the Red Porgy. The Red Porgy is commonly called Silver Snapper.... Anyway, who the hell cares. Chris caught a Porgy that would've pleased the Capt of a 1970 Porgy Boat..... Next up was Ryan. His notable fish was a mystery bite on the bottom, with a small sting silver, on a light spinning rod, with 10 lb test..... 20 minutes and 100 guesses later, and I watched the entire yo yo battle play out on the Fish Finder..... "Ryan, he's 25 feet down, Ryan he's 65 feet down. Ryan he's 40 feet down. Ryan he's 70 feet down." and so on and so on and so on......... So after 20 minutes, we finally get color, we celebrate that it's not a Shark, and Chris quickly gaffs a 36 lb Amberjack. Not too shabby on 10# line and a buggy whip rod..... Finally, its Capt Marty's story and its late and I'm tired and I am driving to Baltimore tomorrow so I'm going to do this fast! Chris caught a small King Mackerel on his stingsilver and it was chased to the Boat by a Huge Barracuda. Acting quickly, I pitched silver barbfish in his direction. Despite this large Barracudas age and experience, he simply couldn't avoid the sudden splash and flash of the panic stricken barbfish. He struck, I struck, and a short time later, he was chasing me and Ryan around the Boat! To summarize the sheer size of this Cuda, he carried 3 remoras. Crazy...... At 44 lbs, he is my new career best Barracuda. Crazy speed and acrobatics. I LOVE those fish! Also, we all caught great sized Blue Runners. They are also a Great Fish and (NOBODY KNOWS) they are outstanding to eat...... We caught a handful of other stuff, came in early..... It was struggle, but we all had our moment..... Total Catch for the Day: 5 Amberjacks from 16 to 36 lbs, a 44 lb Barracuda, 3 Blue Runners 5-6 lbs, a 2 lb 8oz Scup, a 1 lb 8oz Vermillion Snapper, 5 Black Sea Bass, 1 Tomtate, and 1 Sand Perch

Aug 3- HELLO AUGUST

Well, Capt Moore is alive and kicking. Life is a bit of a struggle, missing my wife and Love of my Life and all that..... No, Jennifer DID NOT come back. It zapped my routine worse than a bad back and two bad knees ever did! Living and recovering from a Broken Heart does not make me want to go fishing..... Nor did the blazing July heat..... Well here it is August and I expect cooler and wetter weather. I also expect Capt Marty to slowly rebound and become myself again. King Mackerel beware!

And....... insomnia STILL SUCKS. Its 1am and I got to be at Cedar Island in 4 hours. Id sure like to be sleeping. Losing all my rods and reels. Losing my wife. Losing sleep...... They all suck.  I miss them all..... Lets go fishing!

July 2016- Temperatures in the 90's

As I get older, I freaking hate July. Fishing has traditionally been okay for some stuff but overall, no one raves about "Great July Fishing" unless you hit a pocket of cool water in the deep and land a Billfish Grand Slam or a Giant Blue Marlin...... Of course, long time Top Water Charters associate George Frazier did put 13 Rainbow Runner on the Dock last weekend. That was SURELY the Greatest Catch of RR's in North Carolina Sportfishing History. PERHAPS the Greatest RR day in US East Coast Fishing History. And POSSIBLY the Best RR  in the History of Earth. Until George Frazier cane along, Id only met 2 or 3 people who'd ever caught 1 in their lifetime. What George is doing is amazing.

Rainbow Runner, also known as "Hawaiian Salmon" is a long, slender member of the Jack family that happens to have white Sashimi grade flesh. Highly prized.

July 16- Fly Rodding On Foot Around The Beaufort Water Front

Well, the first thing I did, concerning fishing, was walk down to the foot of Moore Street. Where Moore meets Front..... Don't get me started here. This is a very very sad subject for me..... All the way back to 1980, I had very near exclusive rights to Miss Evelyn Smith's Dock. At that time, you had Barbour's Machine Shop, the massive 3 story brick building and the Smith Dock. Those were the only Docks from the Beaufort Gulf Dock west All the Way to the Cul-de-Sac at the west end of Front Street. Better known as the "Turn Table".......The Smith dock was passed on to Richard Chadwick, whom was my Uncle by Marriage and later his son Hunter...... By then, other Docks, were popping up both east and mostly west of the Chadwick Dock. Every new Dock meant Fish Holding Structure and MORE IMPORTANTLY......Take it from the guy with 40+ Flounder Citations...... All ABSOLUTELY  LOADED with Flounder and Red Drum....... Well Time Marches on. People Die. Others Sell their Property. At one time, I controlled and exclusively fished the Chadwick Dock, Dr Boones Dock, Pages Dock, Martins Dock, and Fraziers Dock. HELL, I didnt need a boat......... The Storys and History are crazy........NINETY (90) RED DRUM from 1 boat slip. Election Day 2004. 4 tagged Red Drum from Pamlico River....... HOW ABOUT 6 FLOUNDER OVER 6 POUNDS ON 6 STRAIGHT DROPS on Halloween of 2005........ HOW ABOUT A 10 LB 11OZ FLOUNDER in 2 feet of water....... HOW ABOUT BACK TO BACK COBIAS BACK IN 2012....... But, like I said, One bt One, I lost access to each and every Dock.... So this morning, I stood on the little Beach at the foot of the old Chadwick Dock and cast my fly. Makes me want to cry. Docks and Wives. Lost. How sad. This is a Fishing Blog. Let me tell yall, from July through November, this is a GREAT FISHING SPOT. Flounder and Red Drum. Anyway, today I caught a small Southern Flounder. Later at the Pond, I caught the usual suspects. Total Catch for the Day: 1 Southern Flounder, 2 Largemouth Bass, and 4 Bluegill

July 15- Late Night Bass Fishing

It was a failure. I am sure that it would take a sizable Bass to hit the huge Frog Imitation Fly that I was tossing...... Plus, the Beaufort Mung Hole aint exactly Lake Okeechobee either. The biggest "Mung Hole" Bass would probably make a fine bobber bait in South Florida....... Honestly, it was either that (Fly) or do a walking trip with the Gig-a-Lite and gig...... I chose the Fly Rod. I gotta admit, there is something Wild and Wooly about throwing that big popper out in the darkness and working it back. The Darkness. The Anticipation. The Energy focused on that Fly. Pop. Pop. Pop. Nothing ever happened, but I bet I try it again. At the right spot. Look out. Total Catch for the Night: Nothing

July 13- Tossing a Fly, Saying Goodbye, and Broiling a Bullet Mackerel

Well...... It was a strange day. Obviously I can toss a fly any day. Today, was a pretty day. Bass and Bluegill were biting. It was great. It put me in a good mood...... A mood that was shattered when I ran into Jennifer while I was helping my 80+ year old Momma take her Dog to the Vet...... Jennifer had already been by our (suddenly my) House and got our (her) cat....... So now, what seemed to be a BAD BAD BAD Dream, is now totally REAL. The ABSOLUTE LOVE of MY LIFE is GONE. And by all indications, She will not be coming back. My Back. My Knees....... All the physical Pain in the World does not touch this. HEART BREAK. HEART ACHE. Whatever. Thinking about Jennifer and how close we were, Just a very very short time ago makes me Hyperventilate......   I am not going to dwell on it here, on this forum. I made mistakes. I shouldve SOLD this House. I fell in LOVE with Jennifer on our first date in June 1996. I LOVE her yesterday. I LOVE her today. I will LOVE her tomorrow. And I will LOVE her for a LONG LONG TIME...... I can not understand why she can not love me in return, but I am totally in debt to her for tyying because I DO NOT have to spend the rest of my Time on Earth wondering if we "would've made it."

Thank you Jennifer Goodwin Moore, I will forever Love You.....

Now, to my Fishing Followers. I apologize.... From My Back, to my Dad's Health, to my Suzuki, to my Knee's, to my Wife ....... I totally apologize. I was, at one time, in my heavily slanted opinion, I was the Best MIXED Inshore/Offshore Fishing Guide in Central North Carolina..... Money spent hiring Captain Marty Moore was Money Well Spent..... My 800+ NC Citations were equivalent to Degrees hanging in a Dentist's Office....... Now, I am not so sure.... I am just a fisherman, on a good day, I can seem like a "Fishing God"........On a poor day, I am liable to break down a really miis my wife to the point of tears.... I'm sorry..... Caal me to go fishing and we shall see what you get.....

Oh yeah, I actually kept a few Bullets. They made great bait....... I also figured the cat, Mister Tumnus would chow down on them too...... But Jennifer had come and got him...... NO MORE CAT.  Boooooo Hooooooo...... Any way, I pan seared a Bullet Mackerel fillet and guess what? Totally edible. I wouldn't say

Total Catch for the Day: 5 Largemouth Bass up to 2 lbs and 8 Bluegill

July 12- Great Fishing

Strange looking box early.... Bullet Mackerels 

Tuggwell with a larger Spanish. On a Metal Jig from 70 feet deep

christ.... outstanding Tuggwell photography.....what?

Add TBon'e 38 lb Jack

We spent 25 minutes re-viving this Jack

Tuggy's best Grouper Rally ever

Bullet Mackerel Frenzy. We could've fill the Box..... Grouper Bait Extrodinair

My Trophy Blue Runner fail prey to Tuggwell Photography too..... Pathetic

This was oure catch wabout 2/3 of the way through..... We are missing several pf our Largest Groupers and all of our Largest Spanish Mackerel s

Great Weather greeted Capt Tuggy and I as we put the New Tuggwell Fishing Machine through it paces this morning........  Fishing was great. Honestly, Id call it good for certain things, but the amazing conditions, oddball catches, and quality in the kill box, made it grade out as "Great Fishing" by the end of the day! We started out on the Shoals and it was a total freakshow. Expecting Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel, we caught those but, we ended up with higher numbers of suddenly common Bullet Mackerel and always sporty adult Blue Runners. We did capture Bluefish and Mackerel in the 2 lb class too. We left the Shallows and went Wreck Fishing. At the first spot, I dropped a half a Bullet Mack and quickly found myself hooked to a 200+ pound Pelagic Stingray. Rare that you see these Giant Stingrays. I got him up 35 feet off the bottom and could see his gigantic form 25 feet below the boat when the line separated. We had a couple of Sharks that hit stingsilvers to on 10# spin. Crazy fights... Great fights... Long Fights.....    At the next stop, we had great fishing for Amberjacks up to 38 lbs, Gag Groupers, Spanish Mackerels, Giant Blue Runners, and more. Capt Tuggwell had a great Grouper Rally, catching 5 Gags in less than 20 minutes. Tuggwell also caught 2 large Spanish Mackerel on light spin. Capt Marty's signature fish would have to be a 5 lb Blue Runner.  The largest Runner I've caught since 1986! Total Catch for the Day: 7 Gag Grouper up to 7 lbs, 3 Amberjacks up to 38 lbs, 4 Spanish Mackerel up to 3 lbs, 6 Bluefish up to 2 lbs, 5 Blue Runner up to 5 lbs, 1 Sharpnose Shark at 7 lbs, 1 Dusky Shark at 13 lbs, 12 Bullet Mackerel up to 1 lb, 2 Pinfish, and 1 Black Sea Bass

July 9- My Dad's Birthday

I cannot tell you..... There is not enough time in the day or enough words to express how Great of a Father my dad was to me, for me...... He gave me EVERYTHING that a son needs to be happy and successful. Both as a kid and as an adult. There was nothing that my Daddy could've done that wouldve been better than what he did......Growing up, there was NOTHING in my eyes, that my Dad couldnt do...... Run a Bank (Raleigh Savings and Loan) all week and then build or fix anything on Saturday Morning! Then take me fishing in the afternoon. Then we'd listen to college football on the radio while he cooked the Worlds Best BBQ Chicken for supper..... (On a huge brick outdoor grill and patio that he made, of course)

Everything was going great in my Fishing Development until he picked up the Golf Habit and I was ON MY ON.....Just kidding, I am just SO HAPPY for my Daddy to have had the opportunity to play those thousands of rounds of Golf that he loved so much. And was pretty good at, I suspect. I surely wish he could still play.

Anyway,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a GREAT GREAT GREAT FATHER..... Charles Allen Moore born July 9, 1936. I LOVE YOU VERY VERY MUCH and I wish I turned out half the Man you were/are.......You lead me by example and showed me the Right Way to do Everything in Life that a boy/young man needs to be successful, productive, and happy.

I hope this mskes sense!  Its very late. I have insomnia. And this screen and keypad are tiny.

Speaking of "tiny"....... reminds of Tiny Pender, ex basketball player at NC State. (Watch how my mind works). The last time I saw him in person, he was pimp striding through the Tangerine Bowl crowd in 1978. NCState versus Pittsburgh....... I was there. Surely, I mustve been a punk ass 13 year old pain in the ass..... But my Daddy hauled me, and my brother down there. To see, honestly, a meaningless Bowl Game.... All the way to Orlando Florida. Taking 2 boys to a Football Game! He also hauled me to NY, Boston, Baltimore, and Atlanta to see MLB. Greensboro, Atlanta, and Landover, Md to see ACC Tournaments..... Good God I could never, ever say Thank You, I Love You, or Happy Birthday enough to scratch the surface of what my Daddy has done nor continues to do for me....  (yesterday, For Example)  shew.......

Let me just add..... Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you.

July 3- Bass on Fly

Today, I figured I'd try it again. Right off the bat....... Here comes a Bass! It was looking much better.... Then the bottom fell out! Imagine that.... Rain negatively affecting my fishing...,. Sheesh.... Ten minutes of fishing at best and it was alot of fun, Oh well...... Total Catch for the Day: 3 Largemouth Bass and 6 Bluegill

July 2- Fly Rodding Beaufort

Sometimes a guy just needs to go fishing.... And since its a Holiday Weekend and my Boat was sitting on its Trailer, I decided to leave it right where it sits. I can't handle the Boat Ramp Drama right now! Anyhow, when I need a quick fix, I can always head over to the Beaufort Mung Holes..... Lordy, wouldn't I love to be in Albion, NY right now..... Wade the Shoreline of Lake Ontario and cast to Love Struck Chinook Salmon and Marauding Giant Brown Trout..... Much different Fishery I am heading off into..... I'm hoping for a Beaufort Grand Slam and the signature catch would be a 14" Largemouth Bass..... Oh well, we play the hand that's dealt us...... As for the fishing.... There'd be NO Slam on this day..... The Bass pulled a NO SHOW which was a suprize and the Pumpkinseed pulled a NO SHOW and that wasn't a suprize.... That leaves me with the Bluegills and they were chewing... Capt Cbo says that there has been a group fishing the Mung Holes with Cane Poles and toting buckets and they've been keeping everything they catch..... Oh well, hard to argue with feeding your family but Damn...... Those Fish were hardly ever worth keeping..... Go to a Dock and catch a bucketfull of Pinfish people! Leave my little Fly Rod Fishing Hole alone and the friendly little fish that live and play there alone! Total Catch for the Day: 24 Bluegill

June 30- SHARK WEEK

Phil and crew wanted good fishing and they trusted my judgement..... It was both good and bad. We wanted to head out in the 18-20 mile range and sock it to the Dolphin, Grouper, and Amberjacks.... just a couple days ago, it was beautiful weather and pretty good fishing. Nothing had changed with the forecast. SW winds at 5-10, 2 foot seas, air temp in the 90's. That was our forecast..... So, of course, at 7am we were greeted by a rain storm the size of Rhode Island, 18 kt winds, and 3+ foot seas... All settled in SE of Beaufort Inlet and moving our way according to Tuggwell's Radar...... So our whole plan, our whole outlook, and our FATE changed. Right there....... I quickly turned east towards a Trawler where I knew we'd find WORLD CLASS SHARK FISHING. I was right, we very quickly landed a huge Blacknose Shark in the 36-38 pound class. Keep in mind, the World Record for this species is 41 lb 9oz..... We also caught a spunky 45 lb Spinner Shark and a beautiful baby Hammerhead Shark.  We broke off a couple of others. Also, Kevin wanted to kill a legal Blacktip Shark, but we didn't want a large carcass in the boat all day, so refrained from getting our Blacktup Griller..... The guys, being hopeful, were ready to GO FOR IT...... I suspected the Worse and told the guys "we were leaving the Best Fishing we'd find all day"...... At this point, I hoped to make it to the Big 10 Fathom Reef Complex and I hoped that we could find success there..... An hour later, the entire crew was soaked and beat to death, black clouds formed a barrier to the south and southeast, but we made our "back-up" destination and we started trolling for Mahi Mahi......  Three Disappointing Hours later, we had missed 3 strikes that bit the Ballyhoo off right behind the hook and we had managed to release a baby Amberjack.....  Not Good. So, we tried the Amberjack and Grouper route, even though, once again, we were 10 miles from Great Fishing, at least we had hope here and it would also keep the crew busy and make them feel "part of the action".... But, it was tough. It was aa tricky drift, our live baits were simply too big for this area..... Oh wouldn't I liked to have been in 90-100 feet of water instead of 65-75 feet! Well, 30 live Menhaden and 75 minutes later, we broke for the Beach. The guys had 1 keeper Gag Grouper, 1 keeper Amberjack, and 1 keeper Black Sea Bass. We had missed 2-3 dozen bites and we had released Grouper and Bass..... Finally, late afternoon, we made it back to the Trawlers and we crushed the big Blacktips, including a 75 lb keeper.... We also rode over to Shark Island but conditions weren't great for Sight Casting..... We actually did not see any Bluefish or Spanish Mackerel at all,,,,, Looking back, we probably should've Shark Fished all day and NOT went on our 100 Mile Boat Ride. But this crew, and I did too, wanted to go Hero..... Its just that we failed! A 25 lb Dolphin or a 15 lb Gag could've changed everything......Total Catch for the Day: 2 Amberjack up to 15 lbs, 2 Gag Grouper up to 25", 6 Black Sea Bass up to 15", 4 Blacktip Sharks up to 85 lbs, 1 Blacknose Shark at 36 lbs, 1 Hammerhead Shark at 10 lbs, and 1 Spinner Shark at 45 lbs

June 27- Striped Bass on the Fly

I had my 5wt Fly Rod ready to go tonight and wouldnt you know it, every thing changed..... For the past 6 nights I've watched hundreds of juvenile Striped Bass and a mix of White Bass and Hybrid Bass as well...... Catching them on fly (or anything else) would be as simple as "hitting the water". Well tonight, all that changed thanks to about 2 dozen jumbo Jumping Mullets that decided to spend 6 freaking hours daisy chaining right under the lights where the Bass Frenzys had been taking place. I suppose in the eyes of 8" to 12" Striped Bass, a bunch of 20" Mullets churning in a tight circle was an intimidating sight..... Anyway, the feeding frenzy that happened the past 6 nights never materialized.... But, patience and outside the box thinking paid off eventually when I finally landed a hard fighting 12" Striped Bass on a shrimp initation. Man...... that was fun. Total Catch for the Night: 1 Striped Bass

On the Fly, yeah baby!  Hey, its been a Horrible 2016

That little Bass made me happy

June 25- Capt Marty Conquers New Citation Species

Big, big suprize tonight! Standing over a school of juvenile Striped Bass that Ive been fishing/watching for the past month, I waited until the time was right....... And then I made a quick cast with a tiny grub/jig head. I quickly got a bite and this fish did not come up easily. When I finally got this fish on the surface, I saw I needed a net but didnt have one. After a quick search for options, and finding none, I reeled down and quickly and smoothly lifted my fish up up up and over the rail. Miraculously, as soon as this fish cleared the rail, my 6# mono popped and a much larger than expected fish fell to the deck in front of me. Wow. What a surprise. I quickly noticed a much stouter body and pointier anal fin than the small Striped Bass I was expecting. It was clearly a White Bass. The little cousin of the Striped Bass and this one was a Trophy. This White Bass was 18+ inches long and thick. This morning this fish weighed 2 lbs 9oz on my 4 lb Chantillon Scale. Crazy and a New NC Freshwater Citation for me..... Back to last night..... My next cast was intercepted by a fish and this one turned out to be a 13" Hybrid Bass. Amazing. Before the night ended, I had caught 2 small Striped Bass giving me an odd "Striped" Grand Slam! Total Catch for the Night: 1 White Bass at 2 lb 9oz, 1 Hybrid Bass at 13", and 2 Striped Bass

June 23- Baby Striped Bass Frenzy

Evidently the Striped Bass that call the Neuse River home have recently had a very very successful spawn. I would assume that any juvenile Striped Bass patrolling the Southern Pamlico Sound would in all likelihood be Neuse River stock. Regardless of where they came from, they are swarming the Rocks around the Cedar Island Ferry..... I started working for the Ferry at Cedar Island back in April of 1992, and I have never once caught or seen Striped Bass in this area. Now I have heard tell of adult Stripers being caught in Pound Nets down off Cedar Island. It was generally thought that the latest group of "big fish" were caught up in 2003 or 2004.....  The smaller fish, like the ones I'm encountering, rarely swim east of an area approximately the Havelock (south) or Oriental (north) in the Neuse River area..... Anyway, tonight I caught 6 Striped Bass on a 1/16 oz jighead and white grub. There appeared to be a pretty sizeable "swarm" of Bass that were in a feeding frenzy that ended suddenly as the tide rose. On slack high water, the action turned off like a switch was flipped...... Take it where I can get it nowadays. Total Catch for the Night: 6 Striped Bass

June 17- Sharks and Rays

Phil and Brad made up a great crew and after several days of trying, we finally got this fishing trip in..... Friday was pretty enough, but it was surrounded by strong wind and heavy rain and I believe, the rain anyway, pretty heavily affected the fishing..... We started off inside the Bight at Cape Lookout and I tried to put Brad into his first Cobia. Brad, it seems, hadn't been doing much saltwater fishing in his life. He had spent all his free time playing baseball and it was time well spent as he will be a joining the University of South Carolina this fall on scholarship as a catcher. Any SEC sports scholarship means that you are BIG TIME. Yes, BRAD DEBO will be a name yo watch. Great kid and I hope he makes the MLB one day! Well, anyway Brad didnt get his first Cobia, but he landed his first Shark snd Southern Stingray.  Brad had one Stingray that was well over 100 pounds and Brad ceremoniously cut off his spine and stuck it Uncle Rays head between his eyeballs. Ive made that a once yearly tribute to honor Steve Irwan and Brad did the honors this year.

To be cont.......

BIG ROCK Day Two

My two Hometowns, Garner and Beaufort.... Guys are representing! Mark Annis, Garner Sr Class of '84 with a 621 pounder! Then the Struyk boys, Curtis, Russ, and CJ are holding down 2nd place. Congrats guys..  

Looking for Gerald and Joey Bell to make their move......

Meanwhile my knee aches and my wife packs...... Life is a journey and I'm stuck in a Romanian Muddfield. Thanks.

June 13- Lets Go Fishing

I am home and I NEED to go fishing!

The Big Rock Tournament is underway so........

We will see some High Dollar Assets. Sounds like a pretty good bite going on off there in the wild blue yonder!

Funny thing about Fishing...... When they are biting Offshore..... they are usually biting inshore as well.....

Oh well, THATS MY SALES PITCH

June 3- GREAT OCEAN LIFE VIEWING..........

Capt Marty even got in a cast or two

At the Bottom is a Bluefish Roe...... Rare indeed, I hardly ever catch Spawning Bluefish!

............And not so great catching....... Honestly, we could've caught alot more but we were looking for "large" fish. Garland and Amanda joined me today and it was beautiful..... We found a spot with Glassy Clear Blue Water and it was full of spawning Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish! We pulled our bucktails off in favor of metal lures and spent an hour catching fish...... 18 Bluefish from 2-3 lbs and 12 Spanish Mackerel from 1-3 lbs..... Incredibly Fast Action. Casting over schools of acres of Bluefish! Also multiple schools of spawning Spanish Mackerel..... Then it was back to looking for Cobia..... What we found but DID NOT catch was amazing.... First, however, Amanda joined me up top for a Bottlenosed Dolphin show for the ages.... In 15 feet of crystal clear water we found a pod of app 25 female Dolphins and each one had a tiny 3-4 foot long infant..... I can almost tell you we saw some birthing but I can't be sure.... I was still in "fishing mode" but I did enjoy the show.... Then, east of Shark Island, from 12 noon until 3pm, we watched and searched and witnessed a SHOW that seemed just like Sea World. Here's the Line-Up and I hate to say, NO BITES....... But we saw: 5 Cobia, 12 100+ pound Tarpon, 1 Crevalle Jack, 2 1000 pound Manta Rays, 1 Barracuda, 10,000 Bluefish, 5,000 Spanish Mackerel, and a pile of Sharks, Rays, Turtles, and Sea Birds...... It was amazing. We had a feast this afternoon on fresh Bluefish and Amanda will never, ever forget the SHOW we saw today...... I am still working to figure out a way to catch Tarpon on Cape Lookout Shoals. I see them nearly every year. They are headed North as fast as they can swim..... There has to be a way! By the way, all the Cobia were on the bottom and I basically T-Boned them...... We had a couple of followers, but No Takers.... OUCH    Baaa Humbug    Whatever works!  Total Catch for the Day: 18 Bluefish 2-3 lbs each and 12 Spanish Mackerel 1-3 lbs 

May 30 and 31- Striped Bass Where They'd Never Been Before

I started working on the NC Ferry back in April of 1992. I have found good fishing at Night where ever Ferrys tie up for the Night. Three things are always present. Deep Water, Heavy Structure, and Light. Because of these three factors, two other things are usually present: Bait Fish and hungry Predators..... That being said, when I dropped my Speck Rig inside the Cedar Island Ferry Basin tonight, I was expecting Gray Trout.... Just like all those other nights back in the 1990's. Well, I was in for a big shock when my first strike resulted in a small Striped Bass. Wow. My next cast resulted in a double header of small Striped Bass. With a little wind and scattered rain, those little Stripers kept me busy for 90 minutes.  I figured I caught 16 Striped Bass that first night and actually worked 3 different schools. Different locations inside the Docks and they seemed to "learn" the Speck Rig after a few from each school were caught.  The following night, I caught 2 more Striped Bass...... Quicker to catch on...... Total Catch for Two Nights: 18 small Striped Bass and 1 Pinfish

May 26- HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my MOMMA

This year, 2016, on  May 26th, My Mom turns 80 years old. It makes me both very happy and very sad... Sad because we ALL are getting older with all (and then some) of All the Problems that come with aging..... Birthdays are always looking back, reflection, and moving forward.

I can honestly that was Blessed with the best mother anyone could possibly have. She was Always there with the Right Advice and provided every opportunity to me to succeed in every part of life. Many times I feel like I let both my parents down by not becoming something better than an Engineer on the Ferry. I know, and they know, I couldve and shouldve become so much more. However, 10-15 Years ago, the Ferry Job seemed like a Good Idea. I look back now and sometimes I see and feel wasted potential.  But my Mom has always been Proud and Supportive of me. And God knows I have given reason to question me. But she never has. She has Loved me Totally and Unconditionally, no matter what numbskull things I have done and brought into her life.... For that reason and more, I LOVE MY MOMMA and WILL DO ANYTHING I CAN DO TO TAKE CARE OF HER. I owe her more than I will EVER be able to re pay her.. She has been a Great Great Great Mother to me. My best friend and my Hero. Happy Birthday Momma, I wish I could make it your Best Ever!

May 24- Cobia Finally.....

SeaBoo with a Trigger

Capt Ryno with a Gag Grouper

Golden Delicious is what they're calling them now

Capt SeaBoo is the King of Cobias

Complicated day. I "left the dock" three separate times. Caught some fish finally. Best of it was a late afternoon run to a nearshore wreck where Cbo and Ryan wrecked some Jacks, Groupers, and Triggers. Oh yeah, along with 3 Cobia that came both early and late....... Im on Night Run on the mighty MV SEA LEVEL right now. Details and Pictures later....... Total Catch for the Day: 3 Cobia from 18 to 26 lbs, 6 Amberjacks from 18 to 30 lbs, 4 Gag Grouper from 20" to 10 lbs,  5 Gray Triggerfish from 2 to 4 lbs, 8 Black Sea Bass from 10" to 13",  8 Smooth Dogfish from 7 to 12 lbs, 1 Smooth Butterfly Ray at 50 lbs, and 2 Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks at 8 lbs each

More Details Later......

May 20- Serious Cobia Attempt

Boat running good. Knees feel good. Knew where the Bait was. Tide good. Calendar Good. Weather window good BUT....... Rain and Wind coming!

Three hours later, I foul hooked a Leatherback Turtle and he pulled 100 yards of line. That was it. Cold Green Water. 10 days ago, there were Cobia in 73 degree water. Today the there was No Cobias and  water temp was 64 degrees. I saw a few Butterfly Rays caught. I didnt catch any. No Rays, no Skates, no Sharks, no Nothing. I DID NOT CATCH ANYTHING! Total Catch for the Day: NOTHING

May 19- Day of the Dogfish

Finally got my knee pain and swelling under control enough to see is our first little procedure helped with the Top Water Boat's  fuel issues.... I can say this much: After running 25 miles I had NO FUEL ISSUES. So, I ended up throwing my cast net over bait off Barden's Inlet. With 10 dozen baits and an hour left on the incoming tide, Emma and I went fishing. Three hours later.........all i can say is, The Boat ran great. Emma ate several Menhaden. Emma was mad at me because I refused to pull a Shark into the Boat. The sight of my loyal companion dry humping the air and salivating like a pig over a thrashing Smooth Dogfish is embarrassing and was more than I could take today. So I released them beside the boat. One after another. I had three tripleheaders. Pretty good since I was fishing 3 rods. Smooth Dogs. Smooth Dogs. Smooth Dogs. Big pregnant females mostly, up to 16-18 pounders. Ive seen bigger ones only on a few occasions. I also caught 1 "biter" Shark. And that was it. Mission (boat test) Accomplished.  Cobia Fishing was a dud.....Total Catch for the Day: 15 Smooth Dogfish 8 to 18 lbs each and 1 Atlantic Sharpnose Shark at 6 lbs

Capt Marty Update

Sadly Sadly Sadly...... Here in the midst of Cobia Season..... I have been STRUCK DOWN with the most incredible pain in both knees that I have ever experienced.... Some background, on Wednesday May 11th, I was feeling really good about things and my knees were feeling fine again. Almost felt as good as they did back in November of 2015 before any of this crap ever started..... Then on May 11, we had an Annual Inspection on the MV Sea Level.... One small and seemingly insignificant part of my duty that morning was to manually set off a few of our High Water Bilge Alarms. To reach these, I had to crawl on my hands and knees across the Steel Bilge in the Bottom of the Ferry. No big deal and everything passed in flying colors.... However, by Wewdnesday afternoon, I was experiencing pain in both knees..... By Thursday morning I had swelling and tightness on both knees. By Friday, my knee pain on my left knee was about a 9 and my right knee was a 7...... By Saturday Morning, I could barely walk and called in sick..... Today, a week later, I had fluid drained off both knees and recieved 2 cortisone shots....

Now, I feel better all ready. People come hear to read about Fishing, not my health. I realize that. A problem Im having is, I have a MAJOR PROBLEM with my Boat's Fuel Tank. Two weeks ago, I tried a simple and inexpensive remedy. Then I went TO WORK. Then I HURT MY KNEES. I have NOT had a chance or gave a Damn to Try Her Out since then. So........ Tomorrow hopefully I will splash the Top Water Boat and see if she's fixed. I doubt it. Will it stop me from Fishing? I hope not, but I'm not sure. I am NOT spending 5,000-6,000 dollars to fix a 27 year old boat with a Motor with 6,000 hours..... Hopefully there is a simple solution for my Fuel Tank. Apparently there is NOT a simple solution for my knees....

Top Water Out..... I hope there's GOOD NEWS Tommorrow 

May 13- My Boys (BKA) Team Sea Spray

Capt Cbo with a 47 pound Cobia

Capt Ryno with 1 of the 13 Cobias these boys have captured so far......

Cbo with a NC Citation CREVALLE JACK! Thats a Hard One Fellas 

I never had a son to teach all about fishing..... And this reference is Stttttrerching it! But, I know pretty much for a fact the my great friend Cbo did not like to fish AND was not a fisherman when we met in May of 2000. I was older and had a Boat and was fishing 100+ days a year back then and Cbo probably saw me as a novelty and a BIG ADVENTURE back then. For whatever reason, we struck up a great friendship and lots of it was based on fishing. I needed another person to go with me for several reasons and Cbo filled the bill...... I also KNOW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, that I could be a fricking HARDASS BASTARD to fish with. Poor Cbo advanced through the Capt Marty's Fishing Academy......Well, here we are 16 years later and Capt Cbo is a fine young man, a great new father, a professional mariner, and (somehow this makes me a little proud) A GREAT FISHERMAN!

Yesterday on his first day in North Carolina Waters, Capt Cbo lead his team to 7 Cobias up to 47 lbs and a freakish 30+ pound Crevalle Jack. Im sure that Cbo wouldve picked up this Fishing habit without my influence. He is an avid hunter and archer.... But i do feel some responsibility and a touch of pride at Capt Cbo's skill level. He can and does flat out Produce. If yesterday is any indication, those boys are getting ready to have a big couple of weeks of Hardcore Fishig. It makes me smile. It remains to be scene how it will affect me next week when Capt Cbo sacks me up and outfishes me. I sorta feel like The Obi Won Kenobi of Fishing (remember haters, I do have 800+ NC Citations) but as my powers fade..... Knees. Back. Eyes......  Young Capt Cbo is poised to use the Force and surpass me as a Fisherman.  A Cobia Fisherman anyway. And if you fish INSHORE on the US Southeastern Coast these days, COBIA are "All That Matters".....

All I can say is congratulations to Capt Cbo and Capt Ryno as well. See you boys out there on Tuesday. And I hope yall take it easy on me and save me a few fish..... Also, some other guys that I Had Absolutely Nothing To Do With Developing......But forces to be Reckoned With are Capt Tyler Thomas and Capt Chris Kimrey. Congrats boys. All these guys are catching Cobias and Im very happy for them. These ARE the Good Guys. Not the Posers and Phoneys and they aint selling junk. These boys will bloody decks and give you reason to light your grills.  Meat roasts after these boys Go Fishing. I hope everyone follows that thread.... In other words, Cobia on the Grill is mighty fine eating

Capt Marty is on the MV Cedar Island today.  Ferrying pilgrims to Ocracoke. I wish I was fishing...... Next week I am availiable for charter. Im booked on Friday May 20th. I am available on wed and thurs May 18 and 19. Also on Sat, Sun, and Mon. May 21, 22, and 23......

May 5- Cinco de Mayo Parte Dos

Back on shore, with nothing but time on my hands and knowing about many many Bait Balls stacked up east of The Shipping Channel, I called my old "good luck charm" Jeremy up and conspired him into launching his 22 ft Carolina Skiff and going on an afternoon Cobia hunt.....Now Jeremy is both the "World's Greatest" and "World's Worst" Fishermen rolled into one..... Quite simply, he doesn't fish. At age 34 and a life-long Harker's Islander he does not fish..... Since he and I became friend and co-workers, he's been with me 3 times..... Once we did well at the D Wreck with Cudas, AJs, Sharks, and Blues.... The other 2 days is where he shined....... One a day where Jeremy couldn't cast his bucktail 25 feet without slapping someone in the face or breaking off a bucktail, whatever, etc, etc.... He was part of a team of 3 that caught 24 Cobias. The first Cobia Jeremy ever gaffed was my 96 pounder..... We and he, had a great day that ended with a stack of tickets from the NC Marine Fisheries Enforcement and a stack of Citations from NC Marine Fisheries "Good Guys".... On Jeremy's only other rod and reel adventure, he and I "bailed" the 40-60 lb Black Drums over on the Eastside..... Yall get the point! I CALL JEREMY..... I CATCH FISH..... So, Jeremy and I cleared Barden's Inlet and ran west..... We started hitting bait balls looking for Cobia. And then, just as it was looking bleak, I got a mystery bite under a school of Menhaden. After a fair fight and a pretty long run, he actually had me believing for a minutes, and big Scaly Red Cobianot, better known as a Red Drum popped up for a quick release.... Sorry, my old Pal Me-Bob, would've loved to release him in the meat grease with taters and onions and corn dumplings...... After releasing my 45" Red Drum, Jeremy hooked up and quickly released a beautiful 50" Red Drum. I then caught another pair of Drum at 45" and 50"..... We then ran back to the east in a last gasp effort to find a Cobia. Way down off the Cape Lookout Rock Jetty, Jeremy had a nice mystery bite. But, once again, it proved to be a Red Drum. This one was the best fish of the day, 52" and fat as a pig.....  Nice to catch some Trophy Fish even though it isn't what everyone is looking for. We Want. We Need. Cobia. It is the only thing that will satisfy the Masses! Except Capt Marty! All I need/want/desire is a damn Bonito! Total Catch for the Episode: 5 Red Drum from 40-55 lbs each and 4 Bluefish from 2-3 lbs

May 5- Cinco de Mayo and The Beating of Drums

First of all, Capt Ryan and I sailed early this morning. Looking for Sarda Sarda and his very popular cousin, The Blackfin Tuna. Ryan had to be in by 930 in order to play in a Golf Tournament. Nearly a year ago, playing in the very same Tournament, Capt Ryan and I went Bonito Fishing and on the way in we found that monsterous school of Blackfins cartwheeling and somersalting their way up Bogue Banks.... Ryan had to be end by 930.... I hoooked 2 Tunas briefly. Both times the hooks pulled. That was the beginning of a "Fishing Slump" that has eventually grown into a "Life Slump". As a matter of fact, as I type this, my wife is in the other room pretty much HATING ME..... For nothing. Hard to figure out. All I got is Emma. Hard to see where this ends, Its not good, no doubt about that.... Anyway, back to the fishing. AR-315 was a complete and total bust. Nothing, We hovered around for an hour. Finally we gave up on the huge school of Bonito from May 1st and may 2nd. Evidently they had moved on, so did we. We ran west another 2 miles down to AR-320. Once we got there we quickly found a pod of Sheepshear Bluefish. (Old Downeasterner saying, makes about as much sense as the small Flounders they call Cuntcovers) Pretty filthy vocabulary, but used in this way it seems pretty sterile, for some reason..... Well, the clock quickly ticked around to 930 and The Team SeaSpray Boat headed home....... Total Catch for the Episode: 8 Bluefish from 1 lb 8oz to 2 lb 8oz and 2 Black Sea Bass

Sarda Sarda- One Great Fish

The Sarda Sarda, or Atlantic Bonito is truly my favorite fish. No doubt about that. They have nearly every quality I admire in a Game Fish. Their only drawback, to me, is that they are not Jumpers, meaning they do not leap on the strike or in battle.....They make up for this plenty with many of their other attributes. As a matter of fact, they would recieve high marks in every other criteria that Gamefish are judged on.....  Speed, power, change of directions, rugged, dogged. Their large eyes and excellent vision adds to the challenge of getting them to strike a hooked bait at times. Always a Challenge, never outright easy...... Futhermore, Bonito are Absolutely Beautiful in LIFE, they sport incredible horizontal racing stripes (reminiscent of Flames painted on Muscle Cars) and bars that fade in and out with an individual fishes arousal level. Also textbook body shading. All the incredible greens, blacks, silvers, and mother of pearl iridescence fades after death to a dull slate body with black horizontal stripes. This is also a fish with some very formidable teeth as well. Large and Razor sharp. King Mackerel-like. As a matter of fact the Bonito's appearance is reminiscent of a Tuna's body with a Mackerel's head. And I will throw in a Wahoo's speed, a Barracuda's disposition, and an Amberjack's stamina...... Now thats a BAD ASS FISH................... The Atlantic Bonito, Sarda Sarda's final chance to earn praise and respect is not wasted either. You see, by the time the regal Bonito makes it all the way to your dinner plate, he is once again all set to shine. Cooked any way except frying, I would give the Tuna-like Bonito meat high praise. Grilled rare to just done, it is everythibg Yelowfin Tuna is......except size of the flake. Raw dredged in soy/wasabi, it IS just as good as $500 per ounce Bluefin Toro offered at any Toyko restaurant.  Ha ha, like Id know! Cooked in a citrus bath, ceviche made from Bonito is my favorite. Salad made from boiled or leftover grilled Bonito is as good as any Tuna. So there you have it. Ive never fried Tuna but Im sure someone has.....Fried Bonito would probably work too. However,  it seems we always catch Bluefish and/or Gray Trout on our Bonito forays, so I always got a better alternative for frying...... All that in mind, Bonito are special fish. Their numbers are never great. They must not be the Greatest Fish in the Ocean at spawning or just surviving. And since they don't freeze well, don't kill more than you need. Sometimes when I am fishing, I decide that a particular fish "fought so well of a battle" that he "earned" his freedom, or better put, he "earned" his life. And I will release him back to the Ocean on a day when Id otherwise keep him. That his "fight" earned his freedom makes me feel good, however if there was consistency in my thought process, I would NEVER keep another Bonito. Because they all FIGHT SO HARD, they'd all earn their freedom. What I really want to say is, keep a few for a delicious meal, but release the others. They earned it. Remember,  when we are out fishing, it is supposed to be FUN. But the FISH are FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES. Respect your quarry. Respect your opponent. Respect the Fish.

Peace Out

The Fishing Kid

Doing Battle

This one is for Daddy

This one is for Mommy

This one is for Uncle Cory

This one is for Rameses

Capt Ryan's son, Cameron, had a great morning with us. He was pretty tough with the rod in his hands for a 4 year old...... The pictures tell the story!

May 2- Sarda Sarda Slow Play, The Whale, and The Kid

Capt Ryan and the days first Bonito

Cameron cashed in too, fatherly assisted

Capt Marty's Bonito came during the Frenzy so too much was going on for the "Live Shot"

a mile off Atlantic Beach, the Whale was hauling Ass

He also had a squadron of Dolphins jumping all around him!

Sarda Sarda is the cool as hell scientific name for the Atlantic Bonito. It stands to reason that a badass fish like the Bonito would have a badass "real name" as well..... I caught my first one back in 1987. By 1990, I learned that they were "the premier" gamefish that I access to in my 17' Boston Whaler during the SLOOOOOOWWWWWW time right before the Cobia showed up. I learned that by sitting on the Liberty Ship at AR-315 right at sunrise, I would usually get a two hour window of opportunity to "whack them"..... Back in those days, NOBODY knew what they were and 999 fishermen out of 1000 would tell you they were "No Good To Eat"..... I knew WHAT they were , because I learned how to read back in 1970 with Fish Field Guides and Fishing Books..... Anyway, I didn't care about eating them then, all I knew was they were Beautiful, Fast, Strong, Relentless, and Dogged..... I knew that they were elusive as False Albacore, struck metal jigs like Spanish Mackerel, and as tough as Bluefish..... They had EVERYTHING I desired in an Inshore Gamefish except they don't jump..... Oh well..... Back then, as well as today, they are North Carolina's Premier Inshore Gamefish in late April to Early May. Their arrival and departure is perfect. One of our first and greatest targets and they quickly move on as the Cobia move in..... They play their part in making May a Great Fishing Month. And, as a bonus, nowadays we all know that they are also a GREAT eating Fish too.... They are EVERYTHING a Yellowfin Tuna is on the plate, the only difference is the size of the loin. Just last night, I used Bonito in Ceviche, had it raw as Sashimi, and tonight I will grill it jusy like a Tuna Steak...... And for the Fishing..... In 2 hours of hunting Bonito, we saw a couple of quick, sporadic forays..... Then we saw the motherlode. An acre of boiling Bonito. it makes us wonder: How damn many Bonito there must be on this reef!!! Hundreds! Anyway, in the next 60 minutes, they never showed up again. Very disappointing. Only a fast moving Humpback Whale and his 2 dozen Bottlenosed Escorts pulled us away. And they did as we scoured the Beach for the mystical Blackfins from NeverNever Land..... Ryans little boy, Cameron, proved to be a trooper and a great young fisherman. That little boy will be an Outdoorsman Deluxe if he chooses to be. Whales nor Rain nor Wind, nothing deterred him . Going to be hard to keep him off the water. He has already sacked up his first Bonito and Bluefish. Great Short Wham Bam Trip. Total Catch for the Day: 3 Atlantic Bonito from 5-6 lbs, 12 Bluefish from 1-2 lbs, and 1 Black Sea Bass